Inside-out Aldwych

The relationship of inside and outside is always fascinating to architects. And this sight – which I get a great view of each morning from the top of a 243 bus – is particularly striking. The entire building has been demolished, leaving only a historical facade, propped up by gutsy pragmatic steelwork and a big gap where the building should be. In reality, the block will soon be filled up with a luxury hotel, but in my commuting daydream it is left just as it is now.

In this dream, the interior side of the facade has become an exterior and the exterior side becomes and interior – it has become a kind of inside-out building. It makes one wonder how creative one might be with a wrecking ball and imagine the improvements one might make to London’s public space through demolition.

For those with a keen interest in hoarding see below. Note how the hoarding has enveloped the tree trunks. Imagine what might happen if the hoarding continued to spread across Aldwych and through Covent Garden, forming bizzare half-shanty half-Inigo Jones hybrids …